Conveyer system



' july 8 1924. 1,500,776

H. W. sPooNER CONVEYER SYSTEM Filed Jan. 1o. i921 5 sheets-sheet 1 IIWEII T08 HENRY W SPwNE/f July s, 1924. n 1,500,776

H. W. SPOONER n CONVEYER SYSTEM Filed Jan.' 1o. ,921 5 sheets-sheet 2' HENRY M45/0mm JulyA 8 1924.- I 1,500,776

vH.V\LSPQONER CONVEYER SYSTEM Filed Jah. lO. i921 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 Fig, 6.

l l l.

Julyls 1924. 1,500,776

l H. W.` SPOONER l A CONVEYER SYSTEM Filed Jan. 10 1921 I Sheets-Sheet 5 manufactured.' My-invention provides a c onveyer system" adapted to transfer such tires andslmilar annular or cylindrical arti- T o .all whom t may concern: r

Patented July 8, .I

'Au-Nuno sTArE-s PATENT OFFICE.

HENRYW, secon-E', or BROOKLYN, NEW YORK. v

OONVEY SYSTEM.

Application filed Jan-nary 10 1921. Serial No. 436,04?.

Be it known that I,- HENRY lV. SPoonnn, a citizen of the'UnitedStatcs, residing in the borough of Brooklyn, city of New' York,

State of New York, have invented certainv` new anduseful VI napiovemelns 1n Conveyer Systems, of'wh-ichthe following 1s a speelligation. Y

InlV the .manufacture 'of vautomobile -rtires it is generally-the custom lto store them a warehousexfrom. day to day as they are cles from thepointof manufactureto the aisles of al storage `Warehouse or toother points where they'are to be delivered. It may be used also for 'handling beef, pork,

' and 'any commodities which are attached to a ring and transported from one point to another; also forha-ndling coils of wire, barrel hoops, steel tires, rims and similar l'iiig-shapedarticles Which'can be hung onl a hook.

The accompanying'drawings illustratean Yembodunent'of the invention. l

Fig. l isan' isometric diagram of -a tire conveyer system-embodying the invention;

-Figsl 2 and are respectively a plan and elevation of a part of the system where the .tires are transferred from an elevator of a horizontal conveyer.;

Fig. 4 is afront eleiiation of part of the elevator; Y

paratus and Fig. 9 is a transverse section` transferred from one horizontal conveyer to an elevator adapted to A carry them to another horizontal conveyer.A

' Referring to Figi 1, A i's-one of the upper floors of a warehouseon .which the tires B are to be stored..v C are racks withaisles` D between and givingacce'ss to them and opening at4 opposite ends into,4 side aisles An elevator indicated generallyat, F brings the tires from a lowerfloor up, to the From this elevator they are transferred to a? horizontal or approximately horizontal ,carrier Gl, which Vconveys them along the side aisle E past thelines of the several'V aisles D leading to the racks. A discharging'v apparatus H takes the tires in succesvsionfrom--the horizontal carrier and rolls em-alon'g the floor of the aisle; whence they may be takert by the workmen and aced in' the racks; or they may be rolled along the laisle to a receiving block J which stops 'them in convenient position ,for the operator to place them in the racks.

Each floor may bue' provided with a horizontalcarrier G riiining around the periphery of Vit, though generally such an arrangement will be unnecessary on theN ground floor. And in the case of floorsl of large ya rea',l ,they may be divided into sections aroun'tl each of which is 'a separate horizontal carrier. elevatorsr Fniay be arranged in position to fitr horizontal carriers on the different floors 'and on different sections of eacli'lioor.

. level of the floor where they are to be'stored.

LikewiseI a number of The discharging apparatus H 'may beadi i justable so that it can be located at will 1n: 1

line -with any .one of the aisles D. O r a number of such apparatus H maybe used, each' located in line with one ofthe aisles -D' and adjustable to operative or inoperative positionso as to discharge the tires in the'desired aisle. In fact. the separate parts of the-apparatus may be arranged in a. variety of ways and multiplled according tothe circumstances of the ease. Also the sizes and proportions of the several parts of the apv aratus may be altered to suitthe sizes a-nd he number of tires to be handled.

running at its upper end over a sprocket wheel L, and at its lower end over a similar sprocket. The driving sprocket L is operated through a pinion M and a gear N on a shaft O carrying a bevel gear P driven by a bevel gear Q on a vertical shaft R. The` chain K (Fig. 3) carries hooks S at equal intervalsl of its length and extendingA outward therefrom; each hook S being mounted on one of the pins of the chain, and having a depending arm T at the lower end of which is a roller U adapted to bear The elevator F is an endless chain- K r against. a stationary guide V terminating 'just below the point where the tire is to be transferred to the horizontal carrier. This arrangement maintains the tire hookl -S in.

a horizontal position in which it engages the inner edge of a tire' vB and sustains the latter clear on the outside of the chain until theL roller U reaches the end or an interrupted portion of the guide V. On the side of the arm S is an arc shaped lateral eXtension X with a slot engaging a laterally extending pin on the chain anddmiting the travel of the arm T. When the chain car- 1 ries the hook above the point indicated in Fig. 3, the roller U escapes from the'guide V and the hook drops to the full line posi- -tion and allows the tire toslide E.

As before stated there may be a horizon vtal conveyer G at "each 'loor or at different levels. vIn such a case the guide V will be providedwith a removable portion V1 so' as to allow the roller U on the arm T of the hook S to swinfr inward and thereby discharge the tire 'to the conveyer G1 for example as shown in the dotted linesin Fig. 1. The removable portion V1 maybe detachably secured to the guide V inf any suitable manner for example by means of a clip V2 it being apparent that when the portion V1 is removed the roller U will ride inward along the cam end Va of the guide rollers 3 extending laterally from the chain" at points shortly abovethe hook S. The

,Fi'gs. 3 and 6 and described above.

continued movement of the chain swings the `guide bars Y to the dotted linel position shown and holds them `there until the hook S has dropped; so that the tire'is lowered on to the inclined guides Y and will slide down and ofi their ends.

The horizontal; carrier designated as a whole by the letter G comprises a succession of trolleys Yi (Figs. 3-and 5) drawn by a chain 5 with depending pins 6 engagingrthe trolleys and traveling around sprocket wheels 7 at the corners of the'storage section or wherever a turn is made `in the direction of the carrier. Each trolley carriers a hhook to which a tire is to be transferred from the -elevator when the horizontal carrier hook comes into-register with an elevator hook S. The spacing of the hooks on thehorizontal carrier and on` the elevator respectively determines the rate of travel 'of the two apparatusand the driving ,mechaspective rates of travel. This maybe accomplished, for example,- as indicated in If the hooks on the'twon'arriersyare arranged at the same intervals the gearing will besuch as'to drive the two chains at the same speed. Or the hooks on the horizontal carrier may be arranged closer together, in which' case its speed will be, correspondingly slower than that of the elevator.

Arigid frame 7, suspended from the ceiling and fastened to -the side wall of the building carriers a' rail' 8 on whichthe rollers 9 of the 'trolley are supported, and Tri the lower edge of which guides the trolley through horizontal rollers 10.

The lower end lof the trolleyv terminates in lugs llbet'ween which is trunnioned a cross .bar 12J(Fig. 5)\.through which passesA L-'1 theshank -13 of the hook, the shank 13 being arranged to turn in the block 12 so as to hold the hook in a position :transverse to its line of 'travel or .in a position parallel thereto. The chain 5 maybe provided with any S5 usual or `additionalA supports from overhead between the corner sprockets 7.

Acam guide 14 is'supported from the wall or from any other fixed support and the elevator, as shown in Fig. 2 and is shaped to engage a roller 15 -on the lower end of the shank of the hook arid to swing the latter toward the elevator in position to receive a tire sliding .off the ends of the guide bars Y.

To ensure that the open side or aw of the hook shall face'toward the elevator at the moment of transfer. an additional guiderod or cam 16 (Figs.6fand 7) is provided,.fas- 1an tened rigidly to the supports and adapted to deflect the hook into proper position as it travels toward the transverse station. The open end pf each hook is markedil'?. The

intermediate portion 18 is bent backward so 'Wy that in -plan view, Fig. 7, .the stem 13 approximatelycomeshalf way between 'bow 18 of the hook land itsipoint 17. The path of the point 13 is indicatedby the dotted' line 19. The cam 16 commences at the inner 1W side of the path and swings across the same' to the outer side thereof. 'Now if the hook lies in'a .transverse position with its bow 18 at one side ofthe path of movement, it will strikev the cam 1'6 and will be deflected for- 115 ward and across the path of travel as shownN lby the successive positions so that as it leaves the'cam'l: it will stand properlyiat rightangles to the line of travel, which is the position necessary.` for receiving a tire'.

After 4the tire istransferred'to the hook 17 the sha-pe ot the camv 14 permits it to swing back to its vnormal position" with its shank-substantially vertical- Also as soonA as' the-transfer is accomplished a second 125 guide roller 20 arranged on an arm 21 of the-shank'comes in contact with a third cam 2 2 supported by the framework which -carries t e trolley rail and \,shaped as shown extends a short distance on either sideof 90 in Fig. 2 to graduallyl retard the forward 1.30

movement of the roller and to swing it back behind the roller 15 so as to bring the -open bigh-t of the hook to the rear of its by hand or accidentallya-and in any case will reassurne this position on striking the dlschargmg mechamsm.

The dlscharglng apparatus 1s lllustrated -in detail in Figs. 8 and 9; .It-comprises' a curved chute 23 mounted in a carriage 24 which may be on rollers 25 so that it may be transferred to the ends of the several cross aisles, and having a pair ofposts 26V projecting upward in position to-be'strucl;

, any desired distance.

by the tire B as the trolley moves the lat- When the tireter along the yside aisle. strikes the posts'26 it stops and the trolley moves' along and withdraws the hook from engagement. The tire then drops into the 5 chute 23 which is of just suicient width to hold the tire upright on edge and to start it rolling along the aisle. This rolling operation will. carrythe tire practically tires the workman can stopA them Wherever he is filling the racks. In the case ofheavy surface 28'; and it may be further extended.

to the rear to form a slightly elevated platfo1fm29 on which the workman may stand. The tire' B will havesuflicient momentum to rollup the slope 27 and come to rest'in the hollow seat 28, whence it may readily -be liftedy into the'rack-bv the workman on the platform 29.

The inventlon makes it possible to handle and store tires with great rapidity and economy and without labor from the time the are put on. the elevator until they are dellvered to the workman at the racks. The sameapparatus may be utilized for: conveying tires or other articles between other' oints than the factory and Warehouse re-- erred to.

The discharging apparatus orchute 23 may be' provided with a brake to prevent fits-rolling sidevvise, or it may be arranged to 'permit lifting of its wheels's'o that it will rest solidly on the iloor. Or there may be one or a number of such chutesin fixed locations. The side pieces 30 are used as lateral guides, forming practically parts of :the chute and'they may be. laterally ad-.

justable by means .of bolts- 31 and the springs 32 seated in socket 33 so as to have In the case of light a greater or lessbrakingeifect to prevent the tires rolling too far. or to take care of wider or narrower tires. o

Thel various parts of the complete equipment shown may be used separately or in other combinations. For example as shown in F`ig.`11 the tires B may be elevated by `the chain K transferred tothe horizontal conveyer G Where they are vcarried horizontally iu much the same manner as above described to the position indicated at B* where they are released and' caused to fall to the position B1@ to the discharging pparatus H whereupon the tire will roll in the direction of the arrows b2 to the stopping block J where it will roll up the inclined face 27. Y The tires may then be stored on a plat-form 29 from which position the canbe transferred to another elevator lx1- driven by a suitable sprocketvwheel F1', the tiresl being caught on this chain or elevator bylaying them one after another against said elevator so that.- as the next hook IS comes into position the tirewill be carried with it. -This elevator` being adapted to carry the tire B4 for example to a higher floor where the tire can be again discharged `to another horizontal conveyer not shown.

The'term horizontally, as applied for example to the. conveyer G, is used in the broad sense as referring to a movement in a generally horizontal direction. either with or without a certain vertical inclination also.

And in speaking of a transverse direction `I mean 4a direction which is either at right :angles to or obliquely across another.

While my invention is 'particularly adapted for handling tires it is not to be .interpreted that it is limited to such use as it is manifest that it could be used for handling articles of various kinds such as coils of wire, vcar wheels, piston rings, barrel hoops, etc.'

Though I have described with great-particularity of detail a certain specific embodiment of my invention, yet it is not to. be understood therefrom that the invention is restricted to the' particular embodiment disclosed. Various modifications in the details and in the arrangement of the parts may be made by those skilled in the art and various parts of the complete apparatus described may be used in other connections, without departing from -the invention asdened in the following claims.

What Il elaim'is: y

1. A conveying apparatus for tires in-` said elevator to said hooks with vthe tires direction.

fthe elevator to-psaid hooks While verse position, and means for discharging the tires while in such position.

a conveyer comprising a set of hooks travel-J ing horizontally at approximately said level,

`lmeans for` discharging the tires from said elevator to said hooks with the tires parallel to the line of ltravel of the hooks, means for turning said tires to the transverse positoi1,`

and means for discharging the tires While in such position, and an inclined chute for receiving the tires discharged from said hooks `and rolling them in vthe transverse 3. A conveying apparatus for tires including in combination an elevator for lifting the tires in succession to a determined level, a conveyer comprising a set of hooks travcling horizontally at approximately saidw level, means for shifting said hooks out of their normal position toward the elevator andmeans for discharging the tires 'from in such shifted position.

4. A conveyingapparatus for tires including a set of hooks traveling horizontally and means for turning saidhooks about a ver` tical axis to bring them into -a desired plane for receiving the tires.

5. A conveying apparatus for tires including in combination a conveyer comprisinga set of ho'oks traveling horizontally and means 'for turning said hooks about a vertical axis to bring the tires to a .position ,transverse to the line of travel.

v 6. .A conveying apparatus vfor tires including in combination an elevator for litin thel tires in succession to a determined leve and comprising a set of hookn's, means for trippin I said hooks to discharge Vthe tires at any esired level and means for engaging the tires Wheny'the hooks. are trip ed and guiding the tires to a point away om the conveyer. 'f

` -7.: A conveying apparatus for tires com,-

prising in combination aconveyer, comprising a setl of. hooks traveling horizontally, means for pausing the hooks to drop the tires and' a chute which receivesthe tires from Such hooks vand rolls them to a desired point.

v8. A 'conveying apparatus fortires including, a chutewhich receives tires from a :conveyer and'- rolls them to a desired point i and a stopping block or. ,receiving a rolly' ing the tires m succession l level, a conveyer traveling horizontally at ing tire, said block having ""a slope up which the/tire". will. roll and by which its momentum willbe reduced.

9. Ai conveying apparatus i for tires including in Jcombination an elevator for lifttoa determined approximately saidflevel, means for discharging the tires from said elevator to'said conveyer with the tires parallel to the line of travel of the latter, means for turning said tires 'to the transverse position and. means for discharging the tires while in such transverse position.

10. A conveying apparatus for tires including in combination an elevator for lifting the tires in succession to a determined level, a conveyer traveling horizontally at approximately said level; means for discharging the tires from said elevator to said .conveyer with the tires parellel to the line of travel of the latter, means for turning said tires to the transverseposition and -Ineans for discharging the tires While in lsuch transverse position,V and an inclined chute for receiving the tires discharged from said conveyer and rolling them in a transverse direction.

11. A conveying apparatus for tires including incombination an elevator for lifting `the tires in succession to determined levels, a conveyer comprising a `set of hooks traveling horizontally at approximately each level and means for discharging' the tires from said elevator to said hooks.

12. A conveying apparatus for tires including in combination an elevator for lifting the tires' to different levels, conveyers comprising a set of hooks traveling horizontally at approximately each of said levels,

means for discharging the tires `from said elevator to said hooks at any ot the di'erent levels and means for operating said elevator and said' conveyei's synchronously so transfer member adapted to be deiiectedfi-nto' the opening Within the tire to deiect the latter out of its line of travel on the eleva- -tor. a 14. A conveying apparatus for V substantially circular articles comprising in combination a conveyer, comprising a set of hooks the hooks todrop. the articles and a chute which receives the articles from such hooks and rolls them to a desired point and means for retardingthe rolling speed ofv the arl tlCle. t I v 15. A Jconveying apparatus for tires lincluding in combination an elevator fo'r lifting the tires in succession to a determined level, a conveyer travelinghorizontallyl at Aapproximately said level means for l discharging the tires from said elevator to said conveyer withthe tires-parallel to theline of travel of the latter, means` for turning traveling horizontally, means for causing means for discharging said tires to-l--the-vtransverse position and i the tires While in such transxfgrse posit1on, and an inclined chute oiecifing the tires discharged from said honk and rolling them in a transverse 'A iid-a stopping block for receiving sa'd tires and having a slope up which the" roll and by which its momeniredilced.

'onveyng apparatus for tins comprising-Ain combination a horizontal conveyer, means for causing thetires to drop i'rom said conveyer,v a chute-'which recelves the tires from said conveye :tirol rolls them to a desired point and a receiving a rolling iircs` blockfhaving a slope up which the tir illjro'll and by which its momentum will be reduced.

In Witness Whereol, .,'have hereunto signed my name." i

HENRY'W. s-PooNER..

Iig-'block for 

